Can Tech Turn the Tide on Wildlife Crime?

Wildlife crime is an existential threat to protected plant and animal species. Tigers, rhinos, elephants, and pangolins are at globally low population levels due to decades of poaching and exploitation. Less popular species like the Axolotl, Adriatic sturgeon, Rwandan water lily, and the Indian Sandalwood are also critically endangered or vulnerable due to illicit trade.

Illegal wildlife trade affects about 4,000 plant and animal species and has been linked to at least 500 global and local extinctions. It also poses a risk to animal and human health. The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has been linked to wildlife trade and poor biosecurity measures.

There are several reasons why wildlife crime is difficult to tackle.

For one, wildlife crime is one of the most profitable international crimes. It generates billions of dollars of illicit revenue every year. Poaching rings and illegal resource extraction networks are typically well-funded, organized crime units. Wildlife crime usually intersects with other criminal activities such as money laundering, drug trafficking, and corruption, and the scale of these operations alone makes wildlife crime a tough nut to crack.

Although wildlife rangers are important for the continued existence of endangered species, they are often poorly compensated, overworked, and poorly equipped. They work under difficult conditions and are prone to disease and injury. At least 1,000 wildlife rangers have lost their lives in the line of duty in the last decade. Wildlife conservation cannot progress meaningfully without the work of wildlife rangers.

In its 2024 World Wildlife Crime Report, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime noted that “more rapid and measurable progress could be achieved if interventions were informed by stronger scientific evidence.” Without a central body, it is hard to determine the impact of efforts being made to tackle wildlife crime at national and international levels.

According to the Global Initiative to “End Wildlife Crime” (EWC), three main gaps exist in current wildlife trade law. There is no universally accepted definition of wildlife trafficking, no legally binding agreement on prevention and enforcement, and no “global centre of gravity” to advance measures and review progress. Several plant and marine species are left unprotected under the CITES treaty, which only covers about 40,000 species.

The EWC is addressing these gaps by advocating for the creation of a new global agreement on wildlife trafficking. The organization is supported by several “International Champions," including the World Travel and Tourism Council, Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), The Long Run, EarthRanger, and the EDGE AI FOUNDATION.

The Edge AI Earth Guardians competition by the EDGE AI FOUNDATION and Hackster is ongoing. In line with the contest’s theme, here are examples of how technology has been used to combat wildlife crime and preserve biodiversity.

• The Conkouati-Douli National Park in the Republic of Congo is a coastal refuge to many endangered marine and terrestrial species. The park’s vast marine protected area is difficult to manage with traditional methods, and park officials have struggled to deter illegal fishing.
  
  In 2024, the park introduced a satellite-based maritime monitoring system, Skylight. This technology, integrated with the open-source EarthRanger platform, allows officials to detect illegal fishing vessels from their headquarters.
• Poachers and animal traffickers typically sneak into and raid animal sanctuaries at night. The flashlights park rangers carry are rarely enough to detect these criminals under the cover of darkness.
  
  In 2016, the World Wildlife Fund developed a thermal and infrared camera and software system in collaboration with FLIR. These cameras can identify poachers from afar and alert park rangers. They have been installed in national parks in Malawi, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Zambia. In Lake Nakuru National Park, no rhino has been poached since the cameras were installed.
• Rainforest Connection (RFCx) is a non-profit organization that uses acoustic monitoring systems to protect rainforests from loggers and poachers. They offer two platforms, Guardian for rainforest protection and Arbimon for biodiversity measurement.
  
  The Guardian is a solar-powered acoustic streaming device placed on treetops. It detects threats (chainsaw noise, gunshots, trucks, motorcycles, etc) in real-time using onboard edge AI models and satellite connectivity. Arbimon is a soundscape archive and a software platform for ecoacoustic (environmental sound) analysis. It is used in wildlife reserves around the world to monitor endangered species and evaluate conservation initiatives.
• Talking with The Long Run, John Scanlon, former secretary-general of CITES and current chair of EWC, says the tourism sector is on the frontline of confronting wildlife crime, and he mentions the Wildlife Witness app developed by the Taronga Conservation Society. The app has since been discontinued, but it allowed travelers to send photos and location details of illicit wildlife trade to TRAFFIC.

Technology is vital to stemming the scourge of wildlife crime. Scalable innovations are needed to assist wildlife rangers, assess conservation impact, and support biodiversity protection.

Wildlife crime robs future generations of the beauty of our planet. It is our responsibility to ensure that there are fewer endangered species in the future, not more. Submissions are still open for the Edge AI Earth Guardians competition.